Joe Biden says he “screwed up” in debate as he fights to save candidacy

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Joe Biden said he “screwed up” during his debate with Donald Trump, but insisted he will continue his re-election bid despite growing pressure to back down.

“I had a bad night,” Biden told a local Wisconsin radio station in a pre-taped interview that aired Thursday morning. “And the fact is, I screwed up. I made a mistake.”

The US president added that he was “going to win this election”, repeating a line he has often used since last week’s disastrous debate: “When you get knocked down, you just get up.”

At the Independence Day celebration at the White House later Thursday, one supporter yelled at Biden to “keep fighting.” The president replied, “You got me, man. I do not go anywhere.”

The Wisconsin interview marked the beginning of Biden’s new effort to quell a rebellion against his candidacy from within his own Democratic Party, with lawmakers, party operatives and influential donors worried that the 81-year-old president is unable to stand up to Trump or serve the other four. years in the White House.

Biden is gearing up for a weekend of campaigning, with a stop in the state of Wisconsin on Friday and a national television interview with ABC News in the evening. On Sunday, he will travel to another battlefield, Pennsylvania.

Biden has reportedly quietly admitted to some of his closest allies that he can’t afford to stumble on any of the appearances if he wants to regain the trust of his party.

But The New York Times reported Thursday that the president told Democratic governors at an emergency meeting at the White House on Wednesday that he needed to sleep more and work fewer hours, including avoiding events after 8 p.m.

Asked by one governor about his health, Biden said he was fine, adding, “It’s just my brain.” Jen O’Malley Dillon, Biden’s campaign chairwoman, confirmed the comment, but said the president was “clearly joking and then said ‘you’re all kidding.'”

A senior Biden campaign spokesman later issued a separate statement: “President Bush went to bed at 9 and Pres [Barack] Obama made dinner at 6:30. Normal presidents strike a balance, as does Joe Biden. Hardly the rigor of Donald Trump, who spends half his day ranting on Truth Social about plans to cause a recession and the other half playing golf,” the statement said, without specifying which Bush president.

Governors Tim Walz of Minnesota, Wes Moore of Maryland and Kathy Hochul of New York told reporters at the White House after the meeting that they had Biden’s “back” and that the president was “fit for office.”

Before leaving for Wisconsin, the president is expected to spend Thursday at the White House with close family and then host a Fourth of July celebration for military members and veterans. Biden’s wife, Jill Biden, and his son, Hunter Biden, urged the president to stay in the race.

The holiday comes after a dramatic day for the president, with members of his own party calling for him to drop out of the race against Trump and several polls released Wednesday showing a sharp drop in support after the debate, leaving him behind. Republican rival.

Many House Democrats are preparing a joint letter urging the president to end his re-election bid, two people familiar with the matter said.

Walz, Hochul and Moore weren’t the only governors to praise Biden on Wednesday. Several others, including Gavin Newsom of California and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, posted statements of support on the X social network.

Newsom and Whitmer remain the favorite donors to replace Biden. Party insiders also believe the president would back his vice president, Kamala Harris, if he decides to drop out of the race.

Harris, 59, suffered from low approval ratings as vice president, but polls since the debate suggest she would fare better against Trump than Biden.

The vice president told White House staff by phone on Wednesday that she was behind Biden. “We will not back down. We will follow the example of our president. We will fight and we will win.”

Trump and his top aides, who have kept a low profile since last week’s debate, have indicated they expect Harris to replace Biden on the Democratic ticket.

Trump was secretly recorded at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, telling people he thought Biden would “step down.” In a video that went viral late Wednesday, he added, “That means we’re going to have Kamala . . . she is so bad She is so pathetic. She’s just so damn bad.”